Constable Cooper
by PFT
Summary: Sly wasn't faking amnesia, and now works for the police. How far will Carmelita go to ensure that he remains ensnared in this career path? And will Sly ever discover his true past?
1. Introduction

For a brief moment in the vault, his eyes flickered with a flame of remembrance. How I rescued him, how he saved me, how much trouble I caused him, how much trouble he caused me… But that flame quickly died out. Especially when he asked

An argument quickly sprang up between the two major factions in my brain. _He's ready for the taking! The man who's evaded you for years… is just sitting there, scratching his head!_

_No, how could you live with yourself if you only caught him because he forgot he wasn't on your side?_

_It's your job! He's still a criminal!_

_Amnesia…_

_Amnesia or not, he's still a criminal, and all criminals deserve to be in jail._

_What if you told him he was a police officer?_

_What good would that do?_

_Well, he's not in jail, but he'll make up for his crimes through a life dedicated to the public good._

_Plus he's handsome… and he saved our lives… and helped arrest numerous other baddies…_

_Dang it, Carmelita-in-Love! We didn't invite you!_

_She raises a good point, though. Tell him that he's Constable Cooper, your partner at INTERPOL. Now, we'd better go. Otherwise she'll suffer from complete Schizophrenia._

* * *

><p>We ran into the members of the Cooper Gang. Upon seeing them, Sly stopped and was puzzled. "Hey Bentley! Hey Murray! Are you Policemen too?"<p>

Bentley was visibly worried. "Um… no, we're not, Sly."

Sly looked apprehensive. "Hmm. Well, it's nice to see you again after all these years."

"Umm… you too… Sly?"

I interrupted, fearing that one of them would break the amnesia in Sly. "Come on now, Constable, we've got to get back to headquarters." I began to pull him towards the helicopter.

He stopped. "What are they doing here?"

Behind his back, I quickly dropped a small business card, then pointed to it, mouthing 'call me.' Then I continued. "They own the island. Dr. M, hearing tales of a fabulous treasure in the island, invaded."

The only country that would allow him to live without jail time was the U.S.A. He'd never robbed them, the information they'd collected from the arrest of Muggshot had reduced crime drastically west of the Mississippi, and because (it was rumored) that the U.S. wanted to get even with the Swiss and French for refusing to extradite Roman Polanski. His citizenship helped.

INTERPOL very reluctantly let him go- they first tried to force the U.S. to extradite him. That failed. Then they claimed that he was allowed to not be arrested, as long as he was in law enforcement, and I kept an eye on him. That narrowly passed the committee discussion (though some say that they held a vote on whether they wanted INTERPOL to cease intercession, and all said 'Yes.'

* * *

><p>But before the American Police let Sly in on the force, they wanted to know the extent of his injury. Sly checked into a Washington area mental hospital. The test was simple, yet long. The psychologist asked Sly to tell him his life story. They then hooked up a lie detector onto Sly, and brought in the Guru as a consultant. From this, it was determined that Sly's memories were correct- until he turned 11. Then they took a large deviation.<p>

The Guru, after probing Sly's mind, found that all of his memories were there, but the blow from Dr. M's laser blast broke the timeline structure. His brain started reconnecting, but when I destroyed Dr. M's robot, the shock wave caused the timeline to be redirected down an empty path. The brain, confused as to why it was blank, created new memories- His police days.

Despite this, Sly was determined healthy and fit for duty. We were stationed in Washington, not too far from the orphanage where he'd grown up, and where his family estate was. And not too far from where I grew up, the house that used to be mine, but a good distance away from the Police Academy I attended.


	2. Sleepless

**Sleepless**

It wasn't just the Guru who moved to the area, but eventually most of the Gang drifted Stateside too.

The Guru founded a large sanctuary garden near Baltimore, on the Chesapeake, using gold that Bentley had decided to loot from the vault on Sly's behalf. The area he bought was large- over 200 acres. He also works with a hospital in the Washington D.C. area as a consultant.

Bentley and Penelope, after resealing the Cooper Vault, began to work on a device to restore Sly's memories. They also began working on upgrading old gadgets, as well as serving as Murray's pit crew.

Murray has started to race on the professional racing circuit. He has done immensely well for a rookie, better than any rookie before him. He also stands to pose a real challenge to the 'King of Racing.'

Panda King and his daughter, shortly after she fell in love, had to flee China due to the angry suitors that were rejected. They moved into the suburbs in between Baltimore and Washington, and with the loot from the Tsao incident, started a highly successful Chinese restaurant. They are renowned for their excellent service, friendly atmosphere, and their relatively inexpensive meals- so much so that they are planning on opening up more locations in the region in the next few years.

* * *

><p>Sly and I had been in America now for 6 months. As he lies asleep in the bedroom next door, I lie awake, wondering if things could have been different if I made him remember, but maybe not.<p>

Since moving to America, we've shared an apartment about 15-20 minutes from HQ. 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom. 800 dollars a month. The kitchen is small, but it is well laid out with several top-of-the-line appliances (which we bought). The living room features a 20-inch-TV, Sleeper sofa, and a small coffee table.

There is a knock on my door. I guess Sly must be up. I hop out of bed, and walk to the door in my baggy T-shirt and lounge pants. After opening the door, I silently edge past him and head towards the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Sly spoke. "Sorry for the bother, Inspector. I didn't wake you up did I?"

Setting the kettle down on its base and switching it on (it heats water much faster than the old stove-top kettle), I replied "No, I couldn't sleep either. And it's Carmelita."

"I had a question about how we first met. I mean, I know it sounds dumb, but the ol' noggin just won't stop asking."

"All right." I stopped. Lying is not my strong suit.

Sly sensed that something was wrong, but not the right thing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

I cut him off. "No, sorry it's just been a while." The kettle boiled and I grabbed the drink mixes for the sleep aid- Hot Chocolate. Then, what I should tell him became obvious. "It was first when…"


	3. The First Story

**The First Story**

"… we were both new to the force, and I was at the bank, right in front of you. We literally ran into each other as I was leaving, and you were going in."

Carmelita continued. "But the first time professionally was when the cases we were assigned to crossed. You were assigned to keep tabs on an entity known as Clockwerk. He'd led a group known as the Fiendish Five, who killed the parents of my assigned case, a thief from a line of thieves."

"Anyhow, Clockwerk was determined to destroy this young thief, who was a raccoon and looked a lot like you. The young thief was determined to retrieve his family's legacy- a book."

"Did the raccoon succeed?" Asked Sly. His mug was nearly empty, and he was starting to look a bit sleepy.

"Yes."

"Did you catch him?"

Carmelita looked ashamed. "No. I promised to give him 10 seconds to run, and I did."

"Why are you ashamed, Carmelita? You kept your word."

"But I failed in my job."

"Honor is more important- if you show yourself to be dishonorable, then life just isn't as good."

Carmelita looked at him, scanning his face for any glimmer of recognition. _Does he realize how ironic that is?_But she said, "That's an interesting view on justice, Sly. How did you reach Constable like that?"

"I don't know. Maybe you do." _Sly 1, Carmelita 0. I should have seen that coming._


End file.
